Our nation’s 250th year is upon us and that means a lot to me. I’m sure it means a lot to our Founding Fathers too, looking down from heaven and smiling because so many people over time have helped in preserving our nation.
This year I get to sing the national anthem for my town’s Independence Day celebration. I was having a really hard time learning the words to this beautiful song until I learned its story. It struck a chord with me and now I know all the words and can’t help but love the song.
Francis Scott Key sat on that British prisoner of war ship watching the battle rage as the night went on, like nothing was happening. He felt hopeless. “How will we ever win? There is no way these patriots will survive, who are we to go up against the entire British Empire?” I imagine he thought.
But as the night went on and the cannons blew, painting the sky in a red, awful glare. He saw still standing the flag that represented our freedom and our fight. This story gives me so much hope, there are so many things that happened in the revolutionary war that shouldn’t have happened, so many times we should have lost. But we didn’t. And our flag was still there.
I am so grateful to live in this beautiful country and to be able to live, and talk and worship how I like. Learning about the Revolutionary War and my freedom is one of my favorite things to do. I hope more people all over feel a passion for learning about our country and the rights that we have. Never stop learning.
Annika Amodt,
Virgin, Utah